1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates generally to product support, and more particularly to a method and system for automating product support of registered products via a communication network.
2. Description of the Prior Art Generally, product support, also called technical support, is a process by which a manufacturer (or a third-party service company) provides support or assistance to a customer for a product purchased from and registered with the manufacturer. Generally, registering a product commences a warranty period for the product during which the customer is entitled to receive technical support. Presently, customer or technical support varies widely. If a manufacturer provides good customer support, the manufacturer achieves and retains customer loyalty, and keeps track of any defects or problems that arise with respect to its products. Conversely, if the manufacturer provides poor quality customer support or no support at all, then customers switch to a competitor""s product, and as a result the manufacturer looses customer loyalty and most importantly business. Presently, a manufacturer may provide the following typical customer support options: 1) mail-in servicexe2x80x94the manufacturer will repair customer""s product if the customer mails it in to the manufacturer; 2) carry-in servicexe2x80x94the manufacturer will repair customer""s product if the customer delivers it to a local manufacturer""s service site or a third-party site (e.g., sometimes called depot service); 3) on-site contractxe2x80x94for a monthly or annual fee for a fixed number of hours, a repair person from a manufacturer or a third-party will visit a customer""s site to fix the product or other problems reported (e.g., the fee is sometimes included in a purchase price of the product); 4) customer helpdeskxe2x80x94a software manufacturer often provides a toll-free phone number that a customer may call to speak with a customer service representative for advice and trouble-shooting of the product; 5) bulletin board systemxe2x80x94a manufacturer also may maintain an electronic bulletin board (e.g., forum within online services) staffed by service engineers, to which a customer via a modem may post a problem and a technician will respond with a solution.
In an effort to mitigate costs associated with the foregoing typical customer support options, manufacturers have begun to offer web-based customer support systems to their customers in hopes that the customers will be able to locate information necessary to find solutions to technical problem with their products. Web-based customer support systems are effective in providing bulk information and fixes to common technical problems. However, web-based customer support systems, as described herein below with reference to FIG. 1, are not very effective or efficient in diagnosing and fixing the technical problems.
FIG. 1 illustrates a prior art sequence of steps 100 for performing web-based customer support. Referring to FIG. 1, at step 103 a customer identifies that customer support is required. Conventionally, this occurs when a computing device fails to operate in an expected manner. At step 101, it is determined whether there is an available network connection. If a network connection is not available, a customer calls a toll-free customer helpdesk at step 114, in a hope that a customer service representative will be able to diagnose a problem and offer a solution. If a network connection is available, the customer launches a conventional web browser and connects to a manufacturer""s support website at step 102. At step 104, the customer performs a keyword search corresponding to a problem the customer has encountered. The website retrieves and lists documents corresponding to the keyword search. At step 106, the customer examines the documents in a hope of finding a solution. After the documents are exhausted and a solution is not found at step 108, the customer refines the keyword search corresponding to the problem at step 110 and performs steps 104 through 108 again until a solution is found. If the customer cannot find a solution, the customer may stop and call the toll-free customer help desk at step 114. However, if the customer find a solution at step 108, at step 112 the solution found may inform the customer that additional parts or software are needed to fix the problem, at which point the customer once again contact the toll-free customer help desk at step 114 or exits at step 116. In addition to the foregoing, it should be noted that presently deployed web-based customer support systems, in addition to keyword searches, also offer a customer the ability to browse through the website for more information about products and download published fixes to the products.
An apparent limitation of the prior art sequence of steps for performing web-based customer support is that a customer cannot easily diagnose and solve the customer""s problem regarding a product. That is, the functionality provided by the website described hereinabove is limited to helping the customer identify and provide information corresponding to the problem. Furthermore, if a solution is found for the problem, a customer either has to download and apply necessary software fixes (if available), or call the toll-free customer helpdesk for further support with regard to ordering and applying the software fixes and ordering and installing necessary hardware.
Based on the foregoing, it is highly desirable to automate the prior art sequence of steps for performing web-based customer support. It is further highly desirable to eliminate a need for a customer to contact a customer support helpdesk.
The present invention is directed to a method and system for automating product support of registered products via a communication network.
It is therefore an object of the present invention to eliminate a need for a customer to contact a customer support helpdesk provided by a manufacturer.
It is another object of the present invention to automate the prior art sequence of steps for performing web-based customer support.
Thus according to an embodiment of the present invention, there is provided a method for automatically supporting one or more products at a computing device, the computing device being enabled to communicate via a communication network to a support web server, the method comprising: downloading to the computing device a software agent capable of diagnosing malfunctions of the one or more products; diagnosing the malfunctions of the one or more products at the computing device and transmitting information regarding said malfunctions to the support web server; communicating from the support web server to the software agent information regarding one or more solutions for correcting the malfunctions in response to receiving the information regarding the malfunctions; and implementing at least one of the one or more solutions for correcting the malfunctions.
According to a further embodiment of the present invention, there is provided a system for automatically supporting one or more products, the system comprising: a computing device being enabled to communicate via a communication network, the computing device including said one or more products; a software agent capable of being downloaded to the computing device and enabled to diagnose malfunctions of one or more products at the computing device and to generate information relating to the diagnosed malfunctions; and a support web server being enabled to receive the information relating to the diagnosed malfunctions and to compare the malfunctions for the one or more products received from the software agent with known problems, to determine one or more solutions based upon successful comparisons; and to transmit the one or more solutions to said computing device for correcting the malfunctions.